Mira’s POV.

I don't sleep after leaving Lyra. Can't stop replaying my words on the forum. "My daughter in all the ways that matter," I said it publicly. Meant it. But now, alone in the dark, I need to sit with the full weight of those words.

What does it mean to claim someone as your daughter when biology was a lie? When was the foundation deceived? The questions circle until dawn. I don't find easy answers.

But one truth surfaces: I choose her. Not because I have to, but because I want to. ...